Baltic Project

The Baltic States comprise Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All were part of the Soviet Union before 1991 and still have significant Russian-speaking populations. In Latvia and Estonia, more than ¼ of the population is ethnically Russian. In Lithuania, it is closer to 6% of the population, but Lithuania also shares a border with Kaliningrad, a region that still belongs to Russia. Russia, therefore, still has strong strategic interest in Lithuania. All three countries are now part of NATO and the European Union.

While the three countries have much in common, they differ in language (Latvian and Lithuanian are Baltic languages, Estonian is closer to Finnish). 

The evangelical church is quite small in all three countries. In Lithuania, the Catholic Church is still very strong. In Estonia and Latvia the traditional Lutheran Church is the largest protestant denomination. In the Russian-speaking communities, the Orthodox Church is predominant.

Evangelical Christians in all three countries still have close ties to Ukrainian Christians because of the fact that the church was part of a single denominational group during the Soviet Union years. There is still strong communication between Christian leaders in the former Soviet countries, with the various Baptist Union or Evangelical Church presidents visiting neighboring churches, attending seminars and conferences, and providing other types of support.

MIWC's involvement in the Baltic region is a direct outgrowth of our work in Ukraine. Please visit the Estonia Project link below for more information.

Phase 1— Estonia

Phase 2 — Latvia

Phase 3 — Lithuania